Death is not the end
by Hedaforever
Summary: My take on 3x16. Lexa is dead, Pike is dead, Lincoln is dead, almost everyone (including the grounders) is in the City of Light, and everyone is in danger. Ontari is the commander. Clarke hasn't taken the chip… yet. *Heavily based on the finale spoilers in Vancouver. Please don't assume anything I write to be an actual spoiler.
**Death is not the end**

 _Summary: My take on 3x16, Lexa is dead, Pike is dead, Lincoln is dead, almost everyone (including the grounders) is in the City of Light, and everyone is in danger. Ontari, killed the nightbloods and is the commander. Clarke hasn't taken the chip… yet._

 _*Heavily based on the finale spoilers in Vancouver. However, this is my interpretation as someone who misses Lexa. Please don't assume anything I write to be an actual spoiler._

 _Enjoy xx_

* * *

Clarke knows she has to do this. It's her job. It's always been her job. It's the only thing she has left. Her people. She has to save her people. And not just her people. She has to save _everyone_.

ALIE has been getting stronger. For every person who has joined the City of Light, she grows that much stronger. At first it was just Arkadians. More and more were joining. Anything to escape the pain. As ALIE got stronger, people found it harder to resist her. Only a few weeks ago, the first grounder took the chip, and since then more have joined. In fact, it was getting hard to find anyone who wasn't under the influence.

Clarke had always been sceptical. She wouldn't have taken the chip anyways, but hearing that it eliminates pain, by destroying painful memories. She could never do that. No matter how much her heart still ached with grief, she would never want to forget _her_. Even if she wanted, for just one day, to not feel destroyed. She would never do it. She couldn't.

The chip was sitting right in front of her.

"You don't have to do this".

Her mum looked at her daughter, a soft and sad expression on her face.

"You know I do". Clarke responded. Kind sentiments were a waste of time at this point. She either saved her people or they died.

Abby just nodded, smiling sadly at her daughter. She cupped Clarke's face with her hands.

"May we meet again", she whispered.

Clarke just nodded. She could see her mum was worried. But she couldn't think about that now. She couldn't think about anything.

She grabbed the chip, it's glassy texture giving a slight shock as it's coldness spread through her hand. She felt a shiver down her spine.

Sucking in a deep breath, she did the thing she wanted to do least. She had promised herself she wouldn't do it. She swallowed the chip, letting its unusual texture dissolve on her tongue. The whole time she was thinking only of the girl she loved, afraid that she may wake up in this world without pain, and forget her.

* * *

Clarke opened her eyes, blinded by the brightness surrounding her. It was all she could see. The world seemed silent at first. For a moment she felt as though she was existing in nothingness.

As her eyes adjusted she began to make out shapes. The tops of tall buildings. Street lights. Cars. Roads. Before her eyes the city was materialising and it was beautiful. Most stunningly, a large metal structure loomed above her. From what she could remember from Earth History classes on the ark, it was called a monorail, a fast-speed train above ground, going around the city.

Following the tracks with her eyes, she could see them trail away from city, across a wide expanse of blue. A lake, that appeared to be surrounding the city. It was stunning.

She could see clearly now and she stopped for a moment to take in her surroundings. It was beautiful. It looked just like the cities from before the apocalypse. Only… _Cleaner_. The buildings were perfect, mostly glass and metal structures. The sidewalks were perfectly clean, and there was no pollution in the air or fog, or anything remotely dirty. In fact, she would almost use the word _perfect_. That thought unsettled her a bit. Nothing should be perfect.

Breaking out her trance, Clarke began to walk around the city. She took in the views around her. _This is what the world would have been life before the nuclear apocalypse,_ she thought. However, she hadn't seen anyone yet, another fact that unsettled her. A city needs to have people.

After turning on what seemed to be the main street she saw the first person. A figure sitting down. The figure was sitting on a bench and as she got closer she saw that she recognised the man. It was Jasper.

She was surprised to see him. He was smiling, and his hair had grown back. He was also eating an icecream, Clarke believed it was called. She had never actually eaten it before. The whole image seemed peculiar.

"Jasper?" she asked, uttering her first words. Her voice echoed around the otherwise empty city.

Her voice didn't stir any reaction from the boy. He just remained in position, not looking in her direction.

She got closer and asked him again, "Jasper?"

Still no response. She walked right in front of him but he didn't seem to notice. It was as if he didn't even know she was there.….

She didn't know what to do, but she din't want to waste time, so she left him and walked away.

* * *

Clarke was very confused. She began to walk through what seemed to be the main square. She stood in the middle and looked around. She heard something behind, and when she turned around there were people. Ordinary looking people.

Slowly, more and more people were emerging out of what seemed to be nowhere. It was so bizarre for her. They looked like people in movies she had seen on the Ark. They were all wearing long coats and seemed to busy, all rushing off to somewhere.

As Clarke continued to walk around the square, she felt she was being surrounded by more and more people. The more she paid attention the more she felt as though something was off about them. And she usually trusted her instincts.

Initially they all looked clean-cut. Pristine. Normal. As she paid more attention to those swarming around her she began to notice little details. Peeks of tattoos from under the trenchcoats, small braids in the hair. Most of them also had tanned skin and were of quite muscular build.

These details remained of her something. Her memory since entering the City of Light had felt slightly off, but there was something familiar about these people. But she just couldn't think…

AH! The markings and faces and hair, gave it away. She figured it out. They were _grounders._ However, it was so unusual to see them wearing ordinary clothes. To see them clean, free from blood and dirt. They image alone made her feel uneasy, as well as the fact that they seemed to all be staring at her as they walked past her.

She was scared now. None of this felt right. She hurried out of the square where there were less people. She was so confused. None of this was making any sense.

She began to turn down a different street, completely unsure of where she was going. She walked past a few dark alleyways. Peering down each one, half expecting one of the weird looking grounders to jump out of her.

A noise stopped her thoughts and she stood still. It sounded like a soft clatter in one of the alleyways. Her rate increased, and she grew aware of the feeling that someone was watching her. She didn't like the idea that she was being followed. Especially in this strange place.

She shook her head and continued walking down the small street, but she heard a louder clang this time and stopped again. She didn't know whether to go follow the noise to its source or run away.

But then she remembered why she was here. She was meant to find a way to destroy the City. She had been given no instructions. No hint, no clues. No idea of what to do. Following this noise may just be the slightest chance at a lead, an idea of what to do. She had to follow the noise, running away wouldn't achieve anything.

She cautiously approached the alleyway. It looked dark, which was contradicting to the brightness of the streets. She was hesitant to walk into the darkness, but she stopped as she saw a figure in the alley.

Her heart was thumping in her chest as she waited, hoping the figure would reveal itself.

And the figure did begin to walk out towards her.

"Clarke."

* * *

Clarke could swear her whole body stopped. Her breath was caught in her throat. That voice. _Her_ voice. She only knew one person who said her name like that.

No. _No, no, no,_ she thought. It couldn't be.

The figure emerged fully from the shadows. And it was _her_.

It was Lexa.

"Clarke, you shouldn't be here", the figure spoke again.

Clarke looked at the girl, her heart was racing and her mind was just trying to comprehend. It was filled with a million things and she just couldn't get a clear thought out.

But her body had a mind of its own and before she knew it, before she could tell what her body was doing, her body slammed into Lexa, and she was hugging the girl with everything she had.

Clarke felt Lexa remain stiff for a few seconds before melting into the embrace, hugging her back. Both holding tightly in the embrace. Clarke breathed her in. She felt real, she looked real. She seemed so real.

How could this be real? It was cruel. She _knew_ Lexa couldn't really be here.

But there she was. In all her radiance and her power, dressed in her commander gear and warpaint.

Lexa was the one to first break from the embrace. She said again to Clarke with a frown on her face, "You shouldn't be here".

Clarke just ignored this comment, and placed her hands on Lexa's cheeks. She felt real. She felt warm and she could feel Lexa's heart beating. She was so confused.

"I missed you", Clarke said, tears forming in her eyes.

Lexa's frown disappeared, and was replaced with a sad smile. "I missed you too", she said, getting teary eyed herself.

They smiled at each other, not breaking eye contact until Lexa noticed some movement behind Clarke. They broke out of their trance, and came back to face the reality. The grounders were coming. They seemed angrier than before in the square, and they seemed to be coming for Clarke.

Lexa grabbed Clarke's hand, and pulled her along. They ran down a few more streets, but the grounders were catching up. They went to run down an alley but there were more and more people coming out from all the alleys. They were being backed in to a corner, they had nowhere left to run.

Lexa suddenly turned. She pulled Clarke in towards the building, going down the concrete hill. They entered what appeared to be carpark, which was situated under one of the tall buildings. It was dark and cold, the few dim lights flickering. The more time Clarke had spent in the city of light, the less 'perfect' it appeared.

They had a few moments of silence in the carpark, before the grounders realised where they had gone.

"Why are they after me?" Clarke asked through heavy panting from all the running.

Lexa answered in a cool voice, "You don't belong here Clarke. You won't conform and they're scared. You are the virus in their system, and they are trying to eliminate that virus."

This answer surprised Clarke. Mainly because Lexa, the Lexa she had known, didn't know much about technology. The coolness of her voice, sent a slight chill down her spine. She knew there was something going on but she chose to ignore the feeling in her gut.

She grabbed Lexa's hand again, and the pair walked around the carpark, looking for an exit. There didn't seem to be any other exits.

They were trapped. There seemed to only be the one entrance. Clarke and Lexa backed up to the far end of the carpark, against a large iron gate. After a few futile attempts to rattle the gates open, Clarke turned around and gave up. She reached out her hand, and naturally it found itself in Lexa's again.

Lexa looked down to their clasped hands, and the warmth which wasn't in her voice before appeared again, warming Clarke and filling her heart. "You're going to be okay, Clarke", she assured her. "You're going to get through this."

A figure all of a sudden appeared in front of them. It was Jasper. For some reason, he could see Clarke now, and he looked angry. He walked slowly getting closer to them, and Lexa shifted her position to a defence stance, standing in front of Clarke, swords out.

Clarke, trusting Jasper wouldn't be a threat, guided Lexa back by her side. She didn't want to him to feel threatened. Lexa looked at Clarke, unsure. But she took a deep breath and slid the swords back into their sheath.

"What are you doing here, Clarke?", he asked in the same cold tone Lexa has used earlier.

She answered him cautiously, "Jasper, I'm here to save you. I'm here to save you all from ALIE."

"You've seen the City of Light. No pain, no sadness, no envy. Why would you deny people that?"

Clarke had seen the city of light. She understood why people had joined. And why they had stayed. To live without pain, without death. It was very tempting. But she also had seen the memory loss, the conformity, the absence of pain and real emotion. The City of Light was too good to be true.

"Humans have free will, we have the freedom to choose how we live our lives." She said empathetically, trying to reach Jasper.

Jasper looked at her with a cold accusing glare. He mocked, "Humans are the only species who work against their best interest. They torture and murder each other".

Clarke looked at him, a sad expression on her face. Everything he was saying sounded programmed. Not genuine. "That's not you, Jasper. That's ALIE talking."

Their conversation was interrupted by the mass of figures appearing now in the carpark. They had found them. Clarke's breath quickened and she looked at Lexa, unsure of what to do.

Lexa turned to look at Clarke, "You go on, I'll hold them back."

"Lexa, no!" Clarke pleaded. She just got her back, she wouldn't let her go again.

Clarke looked around, she saw that she could manage to sneak around and escape, by hiding behind the cars. But she would need someone to distract the grounders, and she wasn't going to let Lexa stay behind. She thought selfishly to use Jasper as bait, but as she looked around the boy had appeared to vanish.

She looked at Lexa, with pleading eyes. She couldn't think of a plan, and the angry grounders were approaching.

Lexa looked at her and cupped her face with her hands. With a sad smile and tears in her eyes she said, "I will always be with you".

Clarke knew if she didn't leave now, she would never get out, she would never save her people. AS much as she wanted to stay, she knew that her mission wasn't finished, and she couldn't be selfish right now. She gave Lexa a quick nod, and returned the sad smile. Both saying in their eyes, the words they were too afraid to say aloud.

Clarke turned around and rushed away, tracing the back of the carpark. She ran behind the cars which helped conceal her as she darted quickly towards the entrance. She saw between the cars as she was running, Lexa whipping out her swords. She twirled them both in front of her face, took a deep breath, and prepared to fight.

Clarke heard Lexa yell a war cry before charging at the men. Clarke was at the entrance to the carpark now, and dared to look back at Lexa one more time. She saw Lexa holding her own, she was a warrior. Her blades clanging, echoed off the concrete walls, but there were simply too many of them, and she was losing the fight.

 _She's not real, She's not real_ , Clarke repeated to herself, forcing herself to move from behind the car she was crouching behind. She exited the carpark, and took one last look back at Lexa. "May we meet again", she whispered, her voice disappearing from her lips.

She turned and began to walk down the now empty streets. She was alone now. Completely alone. After a few more stops her body crumpled, and she fell to the ground in a heap and just sobbed.

* * *

After some time to collect herself, Clarke wiped the tears from her cheeks, and straightened herself up. She was so overwhelmed with what was happening. She didn't understand what was going on. How was she going to destroy this place?

She moved past a building that read "Conservatory of Scientific Research and Discovery". There was a large staircase leading from the entrance building. She stood at the top of these stairs and as she looked at the bottom of the stairs, she saw the beautiful lake glistening in front of her.

The brilliant blue shone at her, glistening as the gentle breeze created soft ripples. The lake appeared to wrap around the city, revealing to Clarke that she was almost at the border of the city.

She sat at the top of the stairs and allowed herself to breath for a second. To appreciate the sun on her face, the gentle breeze, the calming view of the water.

Her peace could never last long though, and before she knew it she heard footsteps. Running towards her direction. It was more of the grounders in their long coats. She didn't know if she would be able to fight them. She had come here to save everyone. She came to destroy the City of Light. And now it was about to destroy her.

The men came, and despite Clarke fighting back, they overpowered her and began beating her to the ground. She continued to struggle, despite being knocked onto the concrete floor. She could feel her leg twang in pain, and the soaring feeling made her dizzy. _No pain in the city of Light._ Yeah right, she thought bitterly, as she gasped in agony.

Clarke had almost given up, when she saw in the corner of her eye, a figure in black jump out and kill two of the men with their sword. Getting closer to Clarke, the figure took down all the people who were beating up Clarke. Slicing them and stabbing them, the figure made their way down the first flight of stairs, having killed all of the grounders who were there.

Clarke looked up, pained tears in her eyes, to see who her saviour was.

And she was standing there, victorious. _Lexa_. For a moment she just stood there, strong and valiant, with her outfit and her hair slightly flowing in the breeze. She looked to Clarke, like an angel. And perhaps, in this world, she was.

Lexa quickly rushed to Clarke, and tried to help her up. But as Clarke tried to stand, all the pain rushed back into her leg and she collapsed to the ground.

"Hey, hey. Are you okay?" Lexa asked worriedly.

Clarke could barely speak, and just faintly nodded. Having Lexa right in front of her gave her the determination she needed to try again. With Lexa's arm around her waist, she slowly stood up, trying to hold back her grimace.

"I'm going to get you out of here, Clarke. Just hold on." Lexa, carrying most of Clarke's weight, helped her down the stairs. It was awkward, and they both were almost falling down. It was a long set of stairs, and Lexa was trying to get down them quickly, they were still in danger.

Almost near the bottom of the stairs, Clarke let out a loud wail, and her body completely gave out on Lexa. Due to Lexa's tight grip on Clarke, she stumbled down as well. They were both now sitting on a step towards the bottom of the stairs.

Lexa grabbed Clarke's shoulder and looked right into her eyes. "Are you alright?"

Clarke was still in pain, but as she looked up she was met with the warm green eyes she knew so well. Despite everything that had been going on, despite the pain she was feeling, she focused for a moment only on the girl sitting in front of her. The girl who she had loved. The girl who she had grieved. The girl who, even in death, was doing absolutely everything she could to protect her.

She breathed softly, "I love you, Lexa". She had never said those words aloud, but she knew how she felt and wasn't surprised to hear how naturally they came out. It made her sad though, as she thought about how the real Lexa would never get to hear those words.

She said the next words with so much regret, "And I'm sorry". She was sorry Lexa didn't get to hear those words. Sorry she didn't get to spend more time with her. Sorry she didn't get the death she deserved.

Lexa just looked back at Clarke, and replied with equal softness and regret, "I love you too, Clarke."

The two held their gaze for the next few moments and Clarke didn't want to ever leave this moment. In her short life, she had never felt as happy and loved as when she was with Lexa.

Clarke felt something wet drop onto her cheek. And she saw Lexa, noticing a similar drop on her own lap. They both looked to the sky and saw something unusual. It was raining.

But it never rained in the City of Light. It was against the City's programming. Clarke realised that maybe she was doing something right. Maybe she was managing to destroy the City of Light. She just didn't understand how or why.

"We have to go. Now." Lexa said breaking their silence. Clarke just nodded, and Lexa picked her up again by the waist, and the two limped down the last few steps and began to head for the lake.

Clarke didn't know where Lexa was leading them, but she gave Lexa full control and trusted she could protect them both. Once she looked behind and up to the top of the stairs she realised the grounders were catching up to them. _Again_. It was as if they had 9 lives.

* * *

Lexa and Clarke limped until Clarke stopped moving. They were a metre away from the edge of the lake, and Clarke took a quick breath to appreciate its beauty.

Lexa looked at Clarke confused. "Why have you stopped? We have to keep going," her voice sounded urgent. Worried.

"We need a plan, Lexa, we can't just keep outrunning them." Clarke tried to rack her brains, but she was still unfamiliar with the technology.

"We don't have time for this, Clarke. We have to go now."

"Wait." Clarke was trying to understand what was going on. "If I take down ALIE and the City of Light… then ALIE 2.0 will be destroyed."

"Yes, Clarke," Lexa was getting impatient, she could see the grounders hurrying down the stairs.

Clarke continued, slowly putting the pieces together. "And you", she said shakily, "You're ALIE 2.0 aren't you?"

There was an eerily quiet pause. "Congratulations Clarke. You figured it out." Lexa said in the same, computerised voice she had heard before from Lexa and Jasper.

It made sense now. Why Lexa was here. She was here to help her, help her destroy the original ALIE. But by destroying ALIE, this version of Lexa would be destroyed as well.

Her voice caught in her throat as she pleaded with Lexa, "I can't let you die."

"I thought I already had," Lexa joked, raising her eyebrows slightly.

Clarke didn't appreciate the joke. She couldn't find anything funny about this situation.

"No Lexa. No. I can't do this again." Her eyes pleading with fear, "I can't lose you again."

"Clarke," Lexa said, her voice now strong and full of love, "Don't forget, life is about more than just surviving"

Clarke looked at the girl she loved, and she could feel her heartbeat racing throughout her body, she no longer felt the pain in her leg, she only felt the pain in her heart.

Lexa wrapped her arms around Clarke's waist, pulling her in, breaking her out of her thoughts. Clarke looked into Lexa's eyes, and Lexa looked right back. Every sense in Clarke's body was tingling. How could someone not real, make her feel _so much_.

Finally giving in to her feelings, Clarke leaned in to Lexa and their lips finally met. The kiss was slow at first, both girls being overwhelmed with emotions. Clarke was trying not to cry, but tears were already rolling down her cheeks. Clarke wrapped her hands in Lexa's hair, pulling her closer. Lexa's hands continued to wrap around Clarke's waist, pulling her closer with each kiss. Clarke pulled away for a second, and with their foreheads still resting together she looked at Lexa. And she was crying too.

Who knew a tear could be so powerful? They both looked at each other, not knowing how to say how they feel. So before they could do anything else, their lips found each other, telling the other what they found too hard to say. The kiss grew more intense and Clarke's heart felt like it may actually burst. The first kiss was soft and gentle, but now it was getting more urgent and desperate. Completely embraced in each other their lips moved to its own music. Everything between them just felt so _right_. So easy.

Clarke, broke from the kiss for a second, remembering where she was. Now that she thought about it. Why hadn't they been attacked by the grounders. They should've caught up by now. She looked to the staircase and couldn't see them there.

It was so peculiar, and she didn't understand anything that was going on around her. Nothing made any sense... Except for the girl in front of her.

Lexa looked at her, and began to open her mouth to say something, but Clarke just closed the gap between them with her lips. Nothing made sense here, except Lexa. And she wasn't going to waste any time thinking of anything else.

From her peripherals she saw something peculiar. The lake appeared to be… _fading_. It was disintegrating from view, leaving behind a blank white void. Clarke quickly dismissed it and refocused her attention on what was in front of her. Her lips on the girl's she loved.

She heard fluttering's around her, and could see more city being disintegrated. Breaking apart from the kiss, she looked around at the city. It almost looked like the world was dissolving into shards of paper. And these shards were being torn smaller and smaller, until it was just white dust.

The tall buildings were slowly turning to dust. Everything was disappearing. The trees were fading, and the streetlights were too, the world was shrinking around them. Becoming non-existent.

Clarke and Lexa looked around, and they saw only white. Except for the ground beneath their feet, which extended only a few metres around them. They didn't have much time, as the ground was disappearing too.

"I love you so much, Lexa." Clarke said, no point holding back her tears now, "I just wish you were real." she said in a small whisper.

As much as she felt connected to this Lexa before her, she _knew_ she wasn't really her.

Lexa just smiled back at her, "I love you too, Clarke." Her hands were holding Clarke's as they looked into each other's eyes. She cocked her head slightly, "I'm just as real as you are".

Clarke was stunned for a second, at the cool tone of her voice. She didn't understand. This whole thing was cruel and she didn't know what to do. There were only a few metres of ground left, and Clarke whispered, "May we meet again."

She softly kissed Lexa for the last time, and Lexa kissed back just as tenderly. Clarke felt a peculiar sensation as she felt the warmth of Lexa's hands in her own disappeared.

She knew what was happening, but it hurt too much to think about. Lexa was disappearing along with the rest of the city. Clarke continued to kiss her, until her hair had begun to disintegrate.

The last thing she felt was the lips on hers as they shattered to dust.

She opened her eyes and all around was a blinding white. With tears in her eyes, she stopped thinking about anything and fell into the void, losing consciousness.

* * *

Clarke felt arms around her. Tears were streaming out of her squeezed shut eyes as the soft figure wrapped around her.

"You did it Clarke. It's okay now, you're okay. You did it," her mum said soothingly as she held her daughter in her eyes. She stroked the blonde hair out of her face and looked at her tear-stained cheeks.

Clarke slowly opened her eyes, and wrapped her arms around her mother. She continued to sob into her mother's shoulder as Abby gently patted her back and held her close.

Clarke allowed herself to be comforted for a few minutes, before getting up and straightening herself up. She didn't say anything, only nodded to her mother, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and walked outside.

She could hear lots of chattering, and as she stepped outside she saw hundreds of people in front of her. Spread across the field were skaikru and arkadians alike, all looking dazed. Confused.

They had all woken up in the real world, after however long they spent in the city. She could see many looked upset and pained to be back in the real world. But she knew it was for the better. They were all safe now. Because of her. And that was worth all the pain.

* * *

Clarke walked through the crowd of people, looking around to make sure everyone she cared about was here. She saw Raven, who was holding on to her leg. However, she didn't look like she was in pain. She actually seemed… better. Not wanting to disturb her, Clarke continued to walk through the crowd.

She made eye contact with Jasper, who gave her a small nod, then continued talking to the people around him. She knew in that small nod, that maybe he wasn't as mad at her. Maybe things would get better between them.

She saw Harper, who was crying and hugging a girl in front of her. When they let go of their embrace, Clarke saw who she way hugging.

No way.

It was _Monroe_.

But… she thought Monroe had died. And by the look on Monroe's face, she was just as surprised. This was all too curious.

She was going to go over to the girls, but saw a familiar dark-haired girl a few metres away.

 _Octavia_

She knew how broken Octavia was since Pike had killed Lincoln. She apologised in her head for taking away the relief from the pain that she had found in the City of Light.

But when Octavia turned around, she had a huge smile on her face. And a figure stepped out from behind her and kissed her neck before turning her around and hugging her close. It was Lincoln.

Clarke was shocked again; her heat beat increasing. She knew that when certain people died, they remained alive in the City of Light. But she had no idea, that by destroying the City of Light she had been able to bring them back.

A thought pushed to the surface, but she refused to let it surface. She couldn't get her hopes up. She wouldn't let the thought even cross her mind.

She saw a small group of children, and realised they were the nightbloods. The ones Ontari had killed during the conclave.

A familiar blond boy ran up to her and gave her a hug. She hugged Aden back, appreciating his gentle spirit.

"You did it, Clarke," he said softly bowing his head, "Heda would be proud."

The mention of Lexa, ran chills through Clarke, but she pushed them aside and smiled at the boy.

She gave each of the nightbloods hugs. She was very fond of these little ones. She said her goodbyes and continued on through the crowd.

* * *

She saw more familiar figures of those she had believed to be dead. It was unbelievable. Clarke couldn't explain what was going on, but she was grateful.

She neared the end of the crowd at the end of the clearing before the woods. As she looked in the tree line she saw another familiar face. One she wasn't expecting.

Anya!

Clarke had no idea why her body moved in the way it did, but before she knew it, she was embracing the former Trikru commander.

Anya stiffened at first, but relented and hugged her back. She took a step back and smiled at Clarke, "You've come a long way, Clarke kom skaikru," she said, softly bowing her head in respect.

"I'm sorry," Clarke replied. It was all she had wanted to say. She was so sorry that she had been killed unfairly. By her own people. She knew her words didn't mean much but she had to say it. She was sorry.

"It's alright, Clarke. Look at what you've done. You saved us all." Anya said gratefully and with respect.

The praises from everyone didn't sit right with her. She couldn't accept this praise, "It wasn't me," she said, finally admitting what she was afraid to, "It was Lexa. It was all Lexa."

Anya smiled at her, "I knew she'd like you." She softly chuckled to herself, thinking back to when Lexa was her second. She quickly went back to being serious and told Clarke, "I know you miss her. But look around you. Look at what she's done. She saved everyone. She saved her people and she saved your people," she took a quick breath before finishing, "Sorry, our people. She saved _our_ people"

Clarke looked at Anya, knowing she was right. "Our people", she agreed, nodding.

The two held out their hands and found themselves in the handshake they had done before, right before Anya was shot. With a sincere shake, and nod of their heads, Clarke turned around and began to walk into the woods until she was completely alone.

* * *

Overcome with emotions she began to cry. She was so happy that everyone was safe from ALIE. She was completely overwhelmed with seeing all the dead people back walking among the living. But it was that part which hurt the most. Everyone was back. Everyone was alive. Except Lexa.

"You could save everyone, Clarke yelled into the empty space, "But you couldn't save yourself!" She cried angrily to Lexa. She crumpled on the ground and began to sob. Letting out all her pain. She would have to let her go, she would have to move on. But for now, there was only pain.

She stayed in the woods for quite a while, hoping nobody would come looking for her. Before she knew it she had passed out in exhaustion, and was asleep on the grass.

* * *

 _Clarke_ , a distant voice called out to her.

She began to stir in her sleep.

 _Clarke,_ she heard again. This time louder.

"Clarke!" The voice behind her was loud and clear, jolting her out of her sleep.

Coming out of the daze, every atom in Clarke's body began to fire up. There was only one person who said her name like that. She didn't dare to hope, and she was still terrified. She pushed herself up off the ground and began to turn around, teary eyed and breathless.

Before she could turn around, she was stopped by strong, soft arms wrapping around her from behind. Clarke relaxed into the arms she knew so well, and breathed her in.

Turning around, the arms remained wrapped around her, and she slid her own around the girl's waist, fully giving in to the warmth of the embrace. She looked up and saw staring back at her soft green eyes. Eyes filled with so much love. Her mind thought of only one word…

 _ **Lexa**_


End file.
